Portable ball-driving practice range



March 4, 1969 o. L. WALL, s-m

PORTABLE BALL-DRIVING PRACTICE RANGE Filed Jan. 24, 1966 Daniel L. Wall, Sr.

INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,430,493 PORTABLE BALL-DRIVING PRACTICE RANGE A practice device for use in sports which requires driving a ball, where a tethered :ball is used to measure the potential distance and angular direction of flight of the driven ball had it not been tethered.

The present invention generally relates to a device for use in practicing the techniques of driving a ball by engaging the ball with an impact instrument such as driving a golf ball by the use of a golf club.

An object of the present invention is to provide a ball driving practice range which is portable in nature and may be expeditiously employed in a confined space such as in a recreation room, garage, basement or the like as well as outdoors and employs a tethered ball in the form of an actual golf ball, practice ball or the like together with means associated therewith for registering the distance the ball would travel and also indicating the direction of flight of the ball in relation to a desired straight line path.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ball driving practice range having a spring biased slide mounted thereon together with a graduated scale for indicating movement of the slide and a releasable ratchet mechanism to releasably retain the slide in its extended position with the tethered ball being secured to the slide for moving the slide in response to movement of the ball imparted thereto by striking the ball with a golf club.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a ball driving practice range in accordance with the preceding object in which the flexible cord or line which serves as a tether for the ball also extends through a guide member that is pivotally supported from a base plate and which is frictionally retained in position so that as the ball reaches a point where the tether line is tensioned, the tension on the tether line will serve to pivot the guide to a position in alignment with the tether line for indicating the direction of the tether line when the ball reaches the end of its flight thus indicating the direction of flight.

While the present invention is disclosed and specifically described in conjunction with a golf ball and golf club, it is pointed out that the structure may also be employed in conjunction with other types of balls such as a baseball that is struck by a baseball bat or other types of balls or projectiles which are struck or projected by swinging a bat, kicking or the like where manual dexterity and skill is required in efficiently carrying out the operation so that by practice, the efliciency and skill of the individual employing the practice device may be enhanced.

A further important feature of the present invention is to provide a portable ball driving practice device which is quite simple in construction, easy to use, easy to move from one place to the other, effective in accurately indicating the distance and direction of flight of a driven ball and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein 3,430,493 Patented Mar. 4, 1969 like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the portable ball driving practice range of the present invention with portions of the cover for the slide mechanism broken away to illustrate the structure thereof;

'FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken generally along section line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 illustrating further structural details of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 illustrating the structural details of the slide tracks and the slide associated therewith; and

FIGURE 4 is a detailed plan sectional View taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 4-4 of FIGURE 3 illustrating further structural details of the ratchet mechanism and the direction indicating mechanism.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the practice driving range of the present invention which may be used outdoors on a lawn 12 such as a backyard or the like or may be employed indoors in a confined space. The practice range 10 includes an elongated generally rectangular base member 1'4 having a beveled end edge 16 and a generally U-shaped prop or support 18 at the other end thereof. When the device is used outdoors, pointed ground inserted pegs or fasteners 20 may be employed for fastening the prop 18 to the lawn surface and also fastening the base member 14 thereto in any suitable manner. If the device is used indoors, it may be anchored in any suitable manner to a floor surface or the like.

Mounted longitudinally on the base member 14 is a pair of elongated slide tracks 22 each of which has an inwardly facing channel-shaped upper end portion 24 and an outwardly extending flange 26 along the lower edge thereof which is secured to the base member 14 by suitable fasteners 28 or the like. The inwardly facing channels 24 form aligned guide tracks for an elongated slide 30 which has the side edges thereof received in the channel-shaped tracks 24. One end of the slide 30 is attached to a flexible tether line 32 by a suitable knot 34 or the like. The other end of the slide 30 is connected with a tension coil spring 36 which has a hook end 38 extending through a suitable aperture in the end of the slide 30. The other end of the spring 36 is anchored to the base member 14 adjacent the beveled end 16 thereof by the use of a suitable eye-screw 40 thus spring biasing the slide 30 towards the beveled end 16 of the base member 14.

One edge of the slide 30 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced ratchet teeth 42 thereon for engagement by an inwardly inclined ratchet member 44 carried by a flat spring member 46 secured to the channelshaped track 24 by suitable fasteners 48 whereby the ratchet member 44 is spring-biased into engagement with the ratchet teeth 42 and will permit the slide 30 to move outwardly toward the end of the base member 14 having the prop 18 attached thereto but preventing inward movement of the slide 30 thus retaining the slide 30 in its extended position.

A manually operated release member 50 extends along the top surface of the base member 14 and is laterally slidable in relation thereto by virtue of a pair of slots 52 receiving fasteners 54 which mount the release member 59 on the base member 14 as illustrated in FIGURE 4. The outer end of the release member 50 is provided with a depending lug or handle 56 for operation thereof and the inner end of the actuating member 50 is provided with an upstanding pin 58 which is received in a V- shaped portion 69 of the release member 50 whereby the ratchet member 44 may be released from the ratchet teeth 42 thereby releasing the slide 30. When the slide 30 is released, the tensioned spring 36 will return the slide 30 to its innermost position in the channel-shaped tracks 24.

A cover plate 62 overlies the slide and spring mechanism and includes depending flanges 64 terminating in outturned flanges 66 secured to the base member 14 by suitable fasteners 68 or the like. Also, the slide 30 is provided with a graduated scale 70 thereon which is associated With the end of the tracks 24 and the end of the cover 62 to indicate the scope of outward movement of the slide 30. The graduated scale 70 together with the spring 36 may be calibrated so that the force necessary to move the slide 30 a given distance against the tension of the spring 36 will actually indicate the distance that a ball 72 attached to the tether line 32 is driven when engaged with a suitable impact instrument. For example, the ball 72 may be a golf ball driven by a golf club in -a conventional manner and the movement of the slide 30 and the scale 70 thereon will indicate the yards or distance driven.

Disposed at the end of the base member 14 is a stationary guide loop or eye 74 and spaced outwardly from the base member 14 is a movable loop or eye 76 carried by a wire rod or arm 78. The arm 78 includes an upwardly offset portion 80 and an arrow indicator 82 disposed above the base member 14 for association with an arcuate graduated scale 84 so that as the arm 78 pivots about the offset portion 80 which extends through the base member 14, the arrow indicator 82 will indicate the angle of the arm 78 in relation to the longitudinal axis of the base member 14. For frictionally retaining the arm 78 in place, a plate or strap 86 underlies the arm and is mounted on a pair of adjustment bolts 88 having a Wing nut 90 thereon and spring 92 by which spring pressure is exerted on the plate 86 which spring pressure is adjustable by the wing nuts 90 thereby varying the frictional resistance to arcuate swinging movement of the arm 7 8.

In order to limit the inward movement of the slide 30, a stop member 94 is provided on the base member in the path of movement of the inner end of the slide 30. The stop member 94 may be in the form of a rubber stop pin or block attached to the base member in any suitable manner. In use, the golf ball 72 is placed in a position aligned with the longitudinal axis of the slide and base member and preferably rearwardly of the device so that the golf ball will travel over the base member during the initial flight thereof although the golf ball may also be driven from a point in front of the base member. The scale 70 may be calibrated in yards Whereas the scale 84 is calibrated in degrees to the right or left indicating that the ball was sliced or hooked. The tension on the slide may be adjusted and can be exerted on the slide by the use of a spring device, a rubber device, friction, Weights, fluid pressure or vacuum devices or the like. Any suitable anchoring mechanism may be employed and the cover may be employed as deemed desirable. As pointed out previously, the ball 72 may be in the form of a golf ball or it may be in the form of a baseball or other similar ball or projectile. The tether cord 32 may be flexible cord or line constructed of nylon or other similar material having the requisite strength required. The spikes are used outdoors and bolts or pads may be employed for indoor use. The adjustable spring tension device including the friction plate 86 serves to retain the angle indicating corner or arrow 82 in the direction of drive and is moved when the tether cord 32 is tensioned such as occurs when the ball 72 reaches the end of the flight thus tensioning the cord 32 and causing the guide loop 76 to move into a position in alignment with the tensioned cord. The ratchet member and the resilient spring on which it is mounted serve to retain the slide in the extended position and the release member 50 is operated to release the ratchet mechanism. A suitable index line may be provided for the end edge of the cover or tracks may be employed as an index line to register with the calibrated graduated scale on the slide 30 to indicate the distance travelled by the ball.

It is pointed out that the unit may be manufactured of any suitable material such as metal, plastic, wood or the like and the dimensional characteristics may be varied to enable the device to be compactly stored and transported and also enable the device to be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and substantially foolproof in operation.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

- What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A ball driving practice range comprising a base member, a slide mounted on said base member for longitudinal movement, spring means interconnecting the slide and base member for resisting longitudinal movement of the slide in one direction, a ball tethered to said slide for pulling the slide against the spring means when the ball is struck with an impact instrument, means carried by the base member and engageable with the slide for releasably retaining the slide in the position to which it is pulled by the tethered ball, said tethered ball including a flexible line having a length to enable the ball to be driven from a point spaced from the end of the slide remote from the point of connection between the flexible line and the slide whereby the initial flight of the ball will be above and generally in longitudinal alignment with the slide, said slide includes projecting flanges on the side edges thereof, said base member including inwardly facing slide tracks slidably receiving and overlying a portion of said flanges, and resilient means mounted on the base member for limiting and cushioning movement of the slide in the direction of movement caused by said spring means, said means retaining the slide in extended position including a plurality of ratchet teeth disposed longitudinally on said slide, a spring-biased ratchet member mounted on said base member for engaging with the ratchet teeth on the slide, and a handle attached to the ratchet member for manually retracting the ratchet member to release the slide to return to its normal position caused by the spring means.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said spring means includes an elongated tension spring having one end thereof attached to the slide and the other end thereof attached to the base member wherein movement of the slide in the direction caused by flight of the ball will elongate said spring.

3. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said slide has graduated scale means thereon and coacts with the portion of the slide tracks overlying the flanges to indicate the scope of movement of the slide thereby indicating the force applied to the slide by the tethered ball to indicate the distance the ball would have been driven had it not been tethered.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with means mounted on said base including a loop member receiving the tether line, means pivotally mounting said loop member from the base member for enabling the loop member to assume a position in alignment with the tether line when the tether line is tensioned when the ball reaches the end of its flight, and an indicating arrow operatively connected with the guide loop for indicating on the base member the direction of movement of the loop and the scope of movement of the loop.

5. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said loop is mounted on an elongated arm pivotally supported from the base member, and friction means interconnecting said arm and the base member for frictionally 5 6 retaining the arm in angularly adjusted position when 2,052,988 9/1936 Procter 273-185 moved to any position by the tension exerted on the 2,201,697 5/1940 Martin et a1. 273--185 tether line.

6. The structure as defined in claim 5 wherein said FOREIGN PATENTS friction means includes a friction plate, spring means en- 5 300 954 3 1935 France gaging said plate, bolt means adjustably mounting said 6,183 6/1914 Great Britain spring means whereby the frictional resistance to rotation 18,772 8/1912 Great Britain exerted by the spring means and plate on the arm may be 173,740 4/1922 Great Britain varied by tightening and loosening the bolt means. 203,227 9/1923 Great Britain R f C1 d 10 258,434 9/1926 Great Britain. 6 fences e 396,953 8/1933 Great Britain. UNITED STATES PATENTS 688,929 3/1952 Great Britain. 1,3113%? 211333 ii fiugfjjjjjjjj: iii? JAMES GILL, Primary 1,682,059 8/1928 Backus 73-3s1 15 R. s. SALZMAN, Assistant Examiner. 1,857,267 5/1932 Tyler et a1. 73-379 1,966,960 7/1934 Harriett 73-381 US. Cl. X.R.

2,051,751 8/1936 Simon 73-379 73-381; 27 -1 200 

